Far too Young to Die
by longshotfromhero
Summary: Nathan owned Blackwell, nothing happened there without him finding out about it. So how did she slip so far under his radar that he didn't even know she existed?
1. Chapter 1

Nathan Prescott paced back and forth in his dorm room, mumbling to himself, "You got this Nathan. She's nothing, she can't do anything to you. You're a fucking Prescott! You own this school- no, you own this town."

He lifted his jacket slightly to reveal a shiny handgun tucked in the side of his pants. With a swift motion, he pulled his jacket back into place, fully concealing the weapon, and made his way to the main building at Blackwell Academy.

Outside the dorms he kept his head down and was very careful not to get distracted by anything or anyone, he had somewhere to be. Unfortunately things don't always go according to plan. Nathan wasn't watching where he was going and neither was the person he fully shoulder checked on the path.

Papers went falling to the ground, scattering out across the grass. Nathan looked to see a girl frantically trying to pick up the papers before the wind could carry them away.

"Try watching where you're going," he sneered as he turned on his heels and continued to his destination.

"Try not being an asshole," she muttered under her breathe.

She knew who he was, but of course everyone in Arcadia Bay knew who he was. His family was money and power, and they were not to be messed with.

The girl collected all the papers she could and shoved them back into the book they had fallen out of. She huffed angrily as she watched Nathan Prescott walk into the school as if he had done no wrong.

Inside the school, Nathan's footsteps echoed loudly through the empty hallways. He was late for class but he didn't care about that, that wasn't what he was here for today.

He paced through the halls until the bell ending classes rang, then he made his way to the girls bathroom. He waited outside the sort for the right time to enter, he had to make sure no one saw him, and he felt like people were always watching. Finding the right time, he slipped inside carefully.

Once inside with a quick scan of the area he began pacing and talking to himself again, "It's cool, Nathan... Don't stress... You're okay, bro. Just count to three."

He turned to one of the sinks and used it to hold himself up as he looked at his reflection and continued talking, "Don't be scared... You one this school... If I wanted, I could blow it up... You're the boss..."

The door opened and he glared at the blue haired girl who entered, "So, what do you want?" He spoke in a calm tone but his voiced held tints of irritation and anger.

The blue haired girl ignores his question and walked along the stalls, opening and checking each one as she went.

"I hope you checked the perimeter, as my step-ass would say," her voice held confidence, "Now, let's talk bidness."

"I got nothing for you," he didn't even turn to face her, he kept his gaze on the sink he was holding on to.

"Wrong. You got hella cash," her confidence was unwavering in this moment.

"That's my family, not me."

"Oh boo hoo, poor little rich kid. I know you been pumpin' drugs n' shit to kids around here," she moved to his right and leaned in over the sink towards him, her voice was lower this time, "I bet your respectable family would help me out if I went to them. Man I could see the headlines now."

"Leave them out of this bitch," his calm tone was gone now and his voice was full of anger.

"I can tell everyone that Nathan Prescott is a punk ass who begs like a little girl and talks to himself."

Nathan pushed back from the sink and pulled out the gun he had, pointing it directly at her causing her to quickly back away.

"You don't know who the fuck I am or who you're messing with!"

"Where'd you get that? What are you doing? Come on, put that thing down!" All confidence had drained from her voice and her appearance.

He had her pinned against the wall with the gun pressed firmly to her stomach.

"Don't ever tell me what to do. I'm so sick of people trying to control me!"

"You're going to get in hella more trouble for this than drugs-"

"Nobody would ever even miss your 'punk ass' would they?" Nathan snarled at her as he pushed the gun harder into her abdomen.

"Get that gun away from me, psycho!" Her voice was filled with pure terror.

His anger had built so much he was about to pull the trigger when the fire alarm went off. He pulled back a little, the girl took her chance and kneed him in the stomach then pushed him to the ground.

"No way..." He breathed out.

"Don't ever touch me again, freak!" She yelled as she ran out of the bathroom.

"Another shitty day..." Nathan growled as he picked the gun up and stuffed it into his jacket again and stumbled out of the bathroom.


	2. Chapter 2

The fire alarm could still be heard from outside as Nathan rushed back to his dorm. He knew he had to get the gun off of him.

He bursted into his room and slammed the door shut behind him. He was pacing frantically as he went over the events that just took place.

"Damn that fucking alarm! I had her, I _had_ her!" He was becoming increasingly irritated, then he stopped pacing as he realized something.

"I could have killed her," he pulled the gun out and started at it, "I almost killed her."

He turned the gun in his hand, looking at it carefully from multiple angles, the he turned it so that the barrel was facing him. His finger touched the trigger carefully as he gazed into the hole in the front.

He was interrupted by a loud voice over the intercom, it was the principle, "Will Nathan Prescott please report to the front office."

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," he tossed the gun down on to his bed and exited his dorm.

Warren leaned against his new car and let out a long sigh, "What's taking her so long?"

"Cheer up, buttercup," a bright voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"Max! What took you so- oh, it's just you, Lauren," he slumped back farther.

"Ouch. Happy to see you too," she elbowed him as she leaned next to him against the car.

"Sorry, I've just been waiting here for Max for a while," he admitted sheepishly.

"Ohhh," Lauren smirked, "Do you have a date or something."

"Wha- no no, it's nothing like that," his face was burning red, "I wish I never told you I liked her."

She sighed, "Come on, I'm your best friend and I'm only teasing you," she nudged his arm and managed to get a small smile out of him.

Lauren noticed Max walking towards them before he did and nodded in her direction, "Hey look, there's your girlfriend."

"Shut it!" He liked Max a lot but he knew she was oblivious to his feelings and wanted to keep it that way, "Yo Max! Check it out!"

"What up, Max? How are you?" He went to hug her but she seemed to dismiss it.

"Here's your flash. Thanks."

"No problem." He scratched his head awkwardly, Lauren started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Max furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Lauren's just being an asshole like usual," Warren stated nonchalantly. Max looked to Lauren expecting a response but she just shrugged.

"Well um, check out my new wheels," he motioned proudly to his new car.

"Cool. Very old school."

"1978 to be exact," he smiled proudly, "Now we can go to the drive-in. There's one in Newberg, just 60 miles away."

"You're in the wrong time, Warren. But then again, so am I," she smiled and laughed softly.

"Are you okay, Max?" Lauren asked.

"It's been one strange fucking day."

"I bet," Warren chuckled, "I heard Victoria got a faceful of paint... I'd pay money to see a photo of that."

Lauren rolled her eyes and pushed him teasingly, "That's not very nice, Warren."

"Like you wouldn't have loved to see it too."

"Really? I wish I would have known," Max was starting to cheer up a little.

"So did you get a chance to check out my sweet movie booty on my flash drive?" Warren beamed happily.

"Who the hell says 'movie booty,'" Lauren interjected before Max got the chance to answer.

Warren and Lauren argued a little as Max just stood there looking around.

"Max, are you sure you're okay? You seem really out of it," Lauren was genuinely concerned for her friend.

"I- I really need somebody to talk to... To get this out of my system."

"We're right here, Max. You can talk to us."

"Okay, but for real guys this is only between the three of us," Max looked at Warren, "No social media."

"Max, please. Don't insult me," he sounded slightly hurt.

"I had this incredibly bizarro experience in Mr. Jefferson's class today... I mean, life changing. Have you ever had a dream so real, it was like a movie?" She looked up at her friends, waiting for a response.

"Max Caulfield, right?" An angry voice sneered as it came closer. It was Nathan Prescott, and he was incredibly angry, "You're one of Jefferson's photo groupies..."

"I'm one of his students," Max was calm as she spoke to him.

"Whatthefuckever," he pushed Warren back away from Max, "I know you like to take pictures, especially when you're hiding in the bathrooms. You best tell me what you told the principal. Now."

"I told him the truth. A student had a gun."

"No, you told him I had a gun. That's why he dragged me into his office."

"And did what? Give you a stern lecture?" Max was starting to get angry.

"Nobody, nobody lectures me. Everybody tries though... They try..."

"You should talk to somebody, Nathan."

"Do not analyze me! I pay people for that. Worry about yourself, Max Caulfield."

"Take a step back, Nathan Prescott."

"Oh man, you're telling me what to do?" He was filled with anger and irritation.

"Warren, we need to do something!" Lauren's voice was a mix of fear and concern.

"I'll handle it," he turned back to see Nathan moving closer to Max, "Get away from her, dude!"

Warren had moved to push him away from Max but Nathan head butted him causing him to fall to the ground in pain.

"Leave him alone!" Max yelled in distress pulling Nathan away from Warren.

Lauren ran to Warren to make sure he was okay, "That's your way of handling it?"

Nathan had turned and grabbed Max by her neck, "Nobody tells me what to do. Not my parents, not the principal, or that whore in the bathroom.

Lauren had found some form of courage from seeing her friend in distress. She got up and rammed her body into Nathan as hard as she could, unfortunately this didn't do much, but it did cause him to let go of Max.

Nathan shoved Lauren to the ground and looked back to find Max. Max had fallen to the ground and was almost hit by a beat up truck. She stood and looked in at the driver.

"Max?" The girl with blue hair was shocked to see her.

"Chloe?" And Max was just as shocked.

Nathan was pissed, "No way. You again?"

He was about to grab Max again when Warren tackled him.

"Go! I got this," he yelled to her

Nathan still had the upper hand and started beating Warren again. He punched him until he couldn't fight back anymore. He turned his attention back to max who was getting in the truck.

"Get your punk asses out of there now!" He kicked the door as Max pulled it shut, "Don't even try running away! Nobody messes with me!"

Lauren got up slowly and saw Warren on the ground. He had a bloody nose and a busted lip, and she could see a bruise forming around his eye.

She rushed to his side and helped him up, "Shit! Are you okay?"

"Yeah I think so, that was pretty badass though wasn't it?" He chuckled but that didn't last long.

Nathan was filled with anger and the person he wanted to take it out on had gotten away. He turned to see Warren laughing and his rage grew. He hastily walked over to Warren and punched him in the face again, causing him to fall back to the ground. Nathan was on top of him within seconds, continuing to beat him.

"Get off of him!" The voice was small and barely reached Nathan. It wasn't spoken softly but he had began to drift so far that he didn't realize what was happening.

He felt small hands grab onto his arm and try to pull him away from Warren. They were persistent and began to annoy him. After another tug at his arm he swiftly stood up and grabbed the persons wrists.

He pinned them back against a car and took in who he was looking at. She was small and he felt like her arms could snap under the pressure he was putting on them. He studied her face and realized he didn't know who she was.

But how was that possible? He knew everyone in this school. He kept tabs on everyone, whether he liked them or not he always knew everything that was going on, so who was she?

His train of thought was broken by someone yelling his name and pulling him harshly away from the girl. It was David Madsen, and he did not look happy.


	3. Chapter 3

David Madsen was head of security at Blackwell and had seemed to take his time getting to the parking lot to stop this fight. He kept his arm out, keeping Nathan away from Lauren. "Do one of you want to tell me what's going on here," he looked roughly between the two of them.

Nathan staring down the girl in front of him, daring her to rat him out just like her friend did earlier today. Her gaze was unwavering from his, and she kept her mouth shut.

David was becoming irritated with their lack of cooperation, "I guess I'll just have to take both of you to the principals office and you can sort it out there."

Lauren didn't know Nathan Prescott. She had never met him before today, but she had heard many things about him and what he did next seemed uncharacteristic for what she had heard.

He agreed to go to the principal's office. This shocked her. But then she remembered the Prescott own everything in this town. He had the principal wrapped around his finger and if he could get out of being accused of having a gun on school property, this was nothing to him.

David brought Nathan and Lauren to the principal's office then left to take Warren to the nurse. The secretary lead them in and directed them to sit and wait in his office for him to arrive. She then left and closed the door behind her.

The two sat there in awkward, uncomfortable silence, waiting for the principal to show up. Nathan choose to break that silence, "So, what's your name?"

"What?" She was confused why he was asking her.

"I said, what's your name," a hint of irritation had slipped back into his voice.

"I heard you the first time."

"Then why didn't you just answer?" He was becoming increasingly agitated.

"I don't understand why you're asking."

"Because I don't know your name. So are you going to answer me?"

She paused for a second before answering, "No. I rather keep it that way."

Before Nathan got the chance to respond, the door opened and the principal walked in hastily. "Sorry to keep you both waiting. So, what is this I hear about a fight breaking out in the school parking lot?" He looked between the two waiting for one of them to explain.

"I was simple protecting myself. It was an act of self defense," Nathan's voice was calm yet still carried a hint of annoyance.

Lauren scoffed which caught their attention. "Do you have something you'd like to add, Miss Bow? You'll both get out of here a lot faster when I find out what happened," Principal Wells looked to her for a response.

"We'd also get out of here a lot faster if Nathan stopped telling fake stories," she spoke in almost a mumble but she was still heard.

Nathan sat up in his chair, "Are you accusing me of lying."

"Yes," she answered plainly.

The two began to argue over then events that took place in the parking lot. Nathan was becoming increasingly irritated as the argument went on.

"That's enough," Principal Wells stood from his seat, "This is clearly going no where, I'll further investigate this incident. You're both dismissed. Expect to be called back to my office soon Miss Bow."

"What!? Why me and not him?" Principal Wells had turned to go through some files and ignored her question. Nathan leaned over and whispered the answer to her question into her ear, "It's because I own this school."

She grabbed her bag and quickly left the room, Nathan followed close behind. He followed her across campus back to the dorms. "Hey wait!" He jogged to catch up to her before she went into the girls dorm.

"What the hell do you want, Prescott." She sounded annoyed and tired but she still turned to face him.

"Are you new here?" He stepped closer to her and moved to block the door.

She looked confused but still answered, "No, I've lived in Arcadia Bay all my life, now can you move so I can get into the dorms?"

He ignored her question, "Then why don't I know you."

"What?" She was becoming more confused.

"My family knows everyone in Arcadia Bay. So why don't I know who you are?"

"I'm smart enough to avoid attention from the Prescott's." She tried to get past him to the door, "Can you please move?"

He moved out of her way, but continued to ask questions, "Can you tell me your name?"

She paused, considering whether to answer him or not, "No."

"What? Why?" He was beginning to get annoyed again.

"I prefer you don't know me, Nathan Prescott." And with that she turned and entered the girls dorm, leaving Nathan standing on the steps alone.


	4. Chapter 4

Lauren entered the girls dorm and quickly made her way to her room. Most of the other girls had their doors open, their conversations filled the hallway but she never liked to intrude on other people's personal lives. As she passed by Max's room she hoped she would be back, but she didn't answer when she knocked and there was no other sign of her being back yet.

"Well would you look what the cat dragged in," Lauren knew that voice and it always annoyed her. She turned around to see Victoria Chase with her two groupies standing by her, giggling like children.

"Not in the mood, Victoria."

"Oh, is that why you left Nathan outside?Didn't feel like sleeping with him?" Victoria smiled to herself.

"Excuse me?!" Lauren wasn't one to let things bother her, but people spreading blatant lies about her was one thing she didn't tolerate.

"You heard me. There's a little rumor that you're a secret slut."

"What rumor." She was pissed at this point.

"The one I'm starting now," she smiled brightly "Oops! Now I guess all the guys will be coming to you for some fun."

"Oh my God, Victoria, you are such an evil bitch, I love it" Taylor said in a cheery tone.

"I know I am. Come on, let's leave the slut alone." The three of them went back into Victoria's room laughing about what had just happened.

Lauren turned and rushed to her room, closing the door softly behind her. She pressed her back against the door and slid down to the floor and pulled her legs to her chest. She started up at the ceiling and let out a deep sigh. "Is this even all worth it?" She mumbled to herself.

She closed her eyes and sat there for a long time until the sound of her phone buzzing brought her back to what was going on. She checked her phone to see it was Warren, he wanted her to bring back one of his books she had borrowed a while ago that she honestly forgot she had. Her knees ached as she stood up. She grabbed the book from her desk and left her room.

"Headed to another late night hook up?" Victoria had a crooked smile that pissed Lauren off. She chose to ignore her and kept walking.

The cold air hit her as soon as she exited the building. She was in such a rush she had left her jacket in her room, but there was no way she was going to walk past Victoria again so she made her way to the boys dorm. The door felt heavier than the girls door which seemed ridiculous to her but once she was done struggling with it and made it inside she noticed there were actually a lot of guys in the hallway, and most of them were looking at her. As much as she hated being the center of attention she knew she couldn't just stand there staring at them. She walked over and knocked on Warren's door. "Hold on, um, let me clean up real quick!" He called from the other side of the door.

"You've got to be kidding me," she mumbled and cursed under her breath.

One of the guys who had been standing farther down the hall came and stood next to her. He leaned against the wall and looked down at her, "Hey there little mouse, whatcha doing all the way over here?" He smiled down at her but it wasn't a nice smile, it was a smile that made Lauren sick. "Come on now, don't ignore me." He dropped his arm over her shoulder and her whole body tensed up.

"I think you're scaring her," another boy called from down the hallway and the rest of them broke out in laughter.

"Hey! Shut up! Sorry about that babe, how about you and me head back to my room for a little bit." She stayed frozen, she didn't move, she didn't look at him, she didn't acknowledge him at all. She though it was working and that he would go away until he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against his side. She tried to push away but wasn't strong enough. "Haha there ya go, now she's not ignoring me!" He called back to the other guys.

Lauren was beginning to panic. She couldn't get away and none of these guys were going to help her. "Let go of her," all of the boys stopped laughing, "Now."

The guy holding her pushed her back roughly. She stumbled and thought she would fall but someone caught her. She looked up to see Nathan holding her up by her arms. His jaw was clenched and he looked angrier than before. The other guys backed off and went back to there conversation. Nathan looked down to see her staring up at him, her face went red and she looked away. He laughed a little bit which was strange for her to hear, she had always seen him mad or annoyed and she found his laugh to be really wonderful.

"Are you okay?" He asked as he helped her stand up straight.

"Um yeah, thank you." She said sheepishly.

Warren finally came out of his room, "Okay sorry about that, I needed to clean up a little."

"You needed to clean your room for me to gib you your book back?" She walked over and handed it to him.

"Well.. No I guess not, I'm sorry," he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"It's fine. I'm gonna head back to my dorm now, I'll see you later." They waved goodbye and Warren went back into his room which was still a mess.

Lauren went to leave when she heard they same guy from before yell to her. "Hey little mouse!" She turned towards him, ready to actually say something to him when he threw a cup of water onto her white shirt. Her face went bright red as she tried to cover her chest. All of the guys were cheering, "Wet t-shirt contest!"

She was completely embarrassed and turned to the door to see Nathan still standing where she had left him. His face was a light shade of pink as he looked at her. She pushed passed him and went outside. The wet clothing made her even more cold than before but her fave was still burning from embarrassment. She started to walk back to the girls dorm, not completely prepared for what Victoria would have to say, when she heard the door behind her open. "H-hey! Wait!" She turned to see Nathan, his face still pink, walking towards her.

"What do you want?" She turned away so he couldn't see her face or through her shirt. She felt something warm drape over her and looked down to see his jacket around her. She looked over to him, confused.

"It's cold out, take it. You can give it back to me another time." He couldn't look her in the eye for some reason.

"Thank you, Nathan." She pulled her arms through the sleeves and held it close to her, trying to absorb all the warmth left from him.

"Can.. Can you tell me you're name now?"

She looked up and smiled at him. "Um, it-it's Lauren. I should go back to my room." She didn't want to wait to give him a chance to reply so she quickly made her way back to the girls dorm.

Nathan looked up surprised. He wanted to say something but she was already gone. He turned back to the boys dorm and stopped at the door. "Lauren..." He repeated to himself before entering.


	5. Chapter 5

The main hall of the girls dormitory was quiet and empty as Lauren entered. As she made her way to her room, she realized Victoria's door was opened. She tried her best to remain unnoticed as she passed by the the open door but unfortunately she is not the luckiest person.

"What in the fresh hell," Victoria's voice contained more anger than normal. She had quickly made her way out the door to stop Lauren in the hallway. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" She stared at Lauren, expecting an answer, when she received none she pressed further. "Why are you wearing Nathan's jacket." She demanded.

"He gave it to me," Lauren answered calmly.

" _Bullshit!"_ She was becoming increasingly aggravated, "there is no way he would-"

Lauren cut her off before she could finish, "look Victoria, I don't have time for this right now. You don't believe me then fine, I don't care, ask him yourself. Goodnight." And with that she turned and entered her room, leaving Victoria standing there completely furious.

The hallway of the boys dorm was filled with laughter. Loud footsteps slowly silenced the laughter as the group of boys became aware of the person approaching them. Nathan was walking hastily towards them, his fists were shaking as he was engulfed in rage.

"What do you want, Prescott?" One of the guys stepped forward. His brows were furrowed and his arms were crossed.

Nathan recognized him as the one who was harassing Lauren. He didn't say a word to him, instead he stepped closer and let his fist collide with his face. He fell back to the ground as Nathan stood over him. He grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him up slightly, coming very close to his face. "Don't you ever touch her again." Nathan pushed the boy back to the ground and went to his dorm.

Once inside he paused and stared down at his hands. Why did he do that? Why did he care at all about that situation? He didn't even know that girl existed until today but there was something about her that just interested him. "Maybe it's not such a shitty day..."

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock at his door. He chose to ignore it, he wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone at this point.

The knocking continued but was now accompanied by Victoria's voice yelling angrily. "Nathan, I know you're in there! Open this door right now!" He wanted nothing more than to ignore her and go to sleep, maybe if he was lucky she would go away. "I am serious, Nathan Prescott, let me in!"

He groaned as he made his way to the door. He stood in front of the door, hesitant to let her, "What do you want?" Maybe if she wouldn't leave on her own he could convince her to.

"I am not speaking to you through a closed door! Let me in right now!"

The door was opened slightly, just enough for Nathan to peek out without letting her into his room. "What do you want," his patience was nearly gone and he wished she would just go away. Even though he was friends with Victoria there were times when he just didn't want to be around her, and right now was one of those times.

"Why did you give her your jacket," the question was blatant and rushed and actually hardly seemed like a question, it was more of a demand for him to give her information.

Nathan stared at her, dumbfounded. "What are you talking about?" She mumbled something under her breath that he didn't quite catch but one thing he did notice was how angry she had become. "What's your problem, Victoria."

She pushed her way past him into his room and started looking through his things. "What the hell are you doing!" He walked over and grabbed her arm, stopping her from going through his drawers.

"Where is it?" She was relentless with this question.

"Where is what!" Nathan was fully prepared to kick her out.

"Your jacket," she stated as if it was obvious.

"What? Why do you care-"

She cut him off, "just tell me where it is."

"I gave it to some girl," he shrugged.

"Oh really, and who is this girl?" She crossed her arms and stared at him, waiting for his response.

"I don't know. It's late, can you leave?" He walked towards the door hoping she would follow. She didn't.

"Why would you give your jacket to some random girl you don't know?"

"Maybe I'm trying to be a good person," his voice was full of sarcasm.

"Oh _bullshit,_ " her nose curled up in anger and disgust, "Let me tell you who she is, she's a loser who got in this school by pity money paying her way." She turned and started walking towards the door but stopped to make a final comment, "Oh, and she's know as the campus slut thanks to me, well you know after Kate that is."

"Get out," his voice was stern. Victoria stood there staring at him, she looked confused as to why his demeanor had changed so quickly. "I said get out." He put his hand on her back and pushed her out the door, swiftly closing it once she was out.

Victoria stumbled but caught herself. She turned back and kicked his door, "What the hell is your problem, Nathan!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Sorry about the codes showing up when I uploaded this before, not sure why that happened but this one should be better :)**

The girls dorm was always quite in the early morning. Everyone was still asleep, except for Max Caulfield. Yesterday was the craziest day of her life and she wanted to believe it was all some dream, but it wasn't. She could rewind time and only one other person knew about it, Chloe. She had meant to tell Warren and Lauren about it yesterday but Nathan ruined that. She didn't want to keep something this big from her friends. Max left her room to go find Lauren.

The hallway was empty and eerily silent. The sun had just begun to rise and very little light filled the hall. Max walked quietly towards Lauren's room, avoiding making any noise at all as if the smallest sound would wake the whole dorm. Once in front of her friend's door, she knocked lightly a few times. After getting no response she remembered Lauren's bad habit of leaving her door unlocked. She turned the knob slowly and felt the latch give, "idiot," she mumbled under her breath.

Lauren's room was a mess. She was more of a sculptor than a photographer and that was evident by just looking around. Her desk was used as a make shift workbench and was covered in half finished projects. There was even clay on the walls. Her books and other school work were on a side table and looked as if they had barely been touched. Her bed was in the far corner of the room. Max saw her curled up, sound asleep. She walked over quietly and shook her shoulder lightly, Lauren didn't respond at all.

She considered just waiting until later to tell her. It was so early and she knew her friend wouldn't appreciate being woken up at this time. As she turned to leave, something caught her attention. On the corner of the futon was a jacket that was all too familiar to her. "Lauren, what the hell!" She was no longer trying to be quiet.

Lauren sat up quickly, looking startled and extremely confused. She couldn't see at all without her glasses. She sat there, squinting hard, trying to make out the figure in front of her. "Max? What are you doing here?"

"Why is this here!?" She held out Nathan's jacket.

"Um, well I can't even tell what that is." She reached around her bed until she found her glasses. Once she could see, she turned to see what Max was holding. "Oh shit."

"Lauren, why do you have Nathan Prescott's jacket in your room?" She sounded very patient, almost like a mom talking to her small child.

"Okay, I went over to drop something off for Warren and Nathan gave me his jacket because it was cold out. No big deal," she shrugged it off and hoped Max would drop the subject.

"Do you realize Nathan is the one responsible for what happened to Kate?" Her face held a mix of concern and anger.

Lauren stood up and changed quickly, "It's just a jacket."

"Don't get involved with him," Max warned.

"Yes mom," Lauren took the jacket from her and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?" She followed quickly behind her.

"To give him his jacket back I'm not going to just keep it." Lauren made her way down the empty hallway and out the front door of the girls dorm.

The campus was empty and quiet, not in the same way as the hallway had been, it was more peaceful. It was the complete opposite to how the campus usually felt. Blackwell was home to drama and the drama queen, Victoria. A peaceful day was rare around here and most of the time Lauren found herself leaving campus after her classes to go somewhere else around town. It was her way of avoiding all the drama and the people who were known to start it. She assumed that's why Nathan didn't know who she was, she was simply never around for him to see her. But why did she care? He had beaten up one of her close friends and was possibly responsible for the humiliation and extreme bullying of another friend, Kate.

She felt a pull in her chest when she thought about Kate. She was the nicest, most sincere person in Blackwell, maybe even in all of Arcadia Bay, and she did not deserve anything that was happening. Lauren chose to go see Kate as soon as she dropped off Nathan's jacket.

As she opened the door to the boys dorm, the feeling of peace completely disappeared. She recalled the events from last night which made her want to leave immediately, but she couldn't keep his jacket. Who knew one piece of clothing could cause her so much trouble.

Her plan was to knock on his door and leave the jacket folded nicely in front of it, after all it was so early she fully expected him to be asleep. Of course nothing ever goes the way she plans.

Lauren knocked lightly on the door and began folding up the jacket when the door actually opened. She looked up to see Nathan standing there with a groggy look on his face. His hair was a curly mess of bed head, and he was shirtless. She stood there, unable to speak as her face went red. Nathan looked down at her, rubbing his eyes. "Why are you here?" The slight aggressive tone that usually lingered in his voice wasn't there which further hindered Lauren's ability to speak, all she could do was stand there.

"Are you okay?" He sounded genuinely concerned. He took a step towards her which was enough to snap her back to reality. Although she was still unable to speak, she managed to shove his jacket into his bare chest. She then turned and walked away as fast as she could while trying to remain calm.

Nathan stared down at his jacket as he realized what had just happened. He looked down the hall hoping Lauren was still there but she was already gone.


	7. Chapter 7

Finally back to the safety of her dorm room, Lauren let out a deep breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Why had she been so nervous? Why did Nathan have to be shirtless? Why did he look so good without a shirt? She quickly shook the thought out of her head. She had to remember what Max had said; Nathan could have something to do with what happened to Kate. "Oh, Kate," her heart broke thinking about what her friend was going through, "I need to go see her."

Lauren peeked out into the hallway before fully leaving her room. The last think she needed at this point was another run in with Victoria. Luckily the hallway was clear and she was able to make it to Kate's door without incident. Soft voices could be heard from behind the door causing her to be hesitant before finally kicking. The voices stopped and the door quickly opened reveling Max and a miserable looking Kate. "Hey, Lauren," Kate smiled sweetly at her friend. Even though she was going through so much she still tried to act strong. Lauren admired her strength, it was something she knew she'd never be able to do in Kate's situation.

She walked over to where Kate was sitting and squeezed her shoulder gently. "How are you doing?" Kate's smile faded as she adverted her gaze to the nearby window. Max stepped closer and cleared her throat, catching Kate and Lauren's attention, "I know you probably don't want to talk about it, Kate, but what's the story with you and David?"

Lauren looked confused but Kate knew exactly what she was talking about. "He's a total paranoid ass! He thinks I'm part of the Vortex Club. Yeah right," Kate scoffed thinking of the accusation.

"What about this video? And I swear I haven't watched it." Max said as she looked over to Lauren. "Well hey, I haven't watched it either," she raised her hands in defense. Kate sighed, "I can't even watch it.."

"S-should I watch it? Just for... posterity?" Max shifted her weight awkwardly waiting for Kate's response. However, Lauren answered for her, "Max, why would you ask something like that?" She was often like a mom, scolding her friends when they were out of line and protecting them to the best of her abilities when she could. "Do you know how humiliating this is to me?" Kate was on the verge of crying.

Max bit her lip, cursing that she had actually asked her that question. "I know this sucks, Kate, but..." she took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts before she spoke this time, "tell us about the video and maybe we can help." Kate looked to Lauren for confirmation and received a supportive smile. She nodded back to her friend before explaining, "Basically, I went to one Vortex Club party and ended up making out with a bunch of people, and I have no memory of it." Kate could no longer hold back her tears. Lauren kneeled down beside her and rubbed small circles on her back attempting to calm her.

"Doesn't sound like you. I can't see you partying with Victoria," Max scrunched up her nose at the mention of her name. "She wouldn't," Lauren said softly. She knew Kate, and she knew she would never do anything like that out of free will. The two girls had become very close friends despite how different they were. Kate didn't seem to be bothered by Lauren's lack of faith, and Lauren never pushed Kate to question her own faith. They were unlikely friends, but they were almost like sisters to each other.

Max kneeled down next to Kate. She was hesitant to pry much more but she needed answers if she hoped to have any chance of helping her. "Kate, what happened at the party? Did you drink?"

"I swear to God I had one sip of red wine. And then I drank water," Kate was fighting off crying again. "Not enough to get wasted," Max rubbed the back of her head trying to think of more questions. "No shit," Lauren knew Max had been mostly talking to herself, she felt the need to respond anyway. Max glared at her as Kate pleaded to them not to fight. Kate had begun sobbing into her hands again, "I don't know how this could have happened. I never get wasted. Ever. I take a sip at church and don't end up on a viral video, okay?" Lauren asked the question she almost dreaded hearing the answer to, "Kate, did someone drug you?"

Kate took a deep in an attempt to regain her composer. "I remember... I remember getting sick and dizzy. Then Nathan Prescott said he would take me to the hospital." Lauren felt her body tense at the mention of Nathan. She could feel Max's eyes on her as Kate continued talking, "He was being nice for a change when he offered to help me." Max kept her eyes on Lauren as she spoke, "He's the opposite of nice. What next?" Kate shifted in her seat, obviously uncomfortable about the events she was being asked to recall. She continued to explain anyway, "All I recall is driving for a long time. Then I woke up in a room.. I thought it was a hospital because it was so white and bright. Someone was talking to me in a soft voice, I thought it was a doctor until I heard Nathan and felt a sharp sting in my neck, a-and," her breathing hitched as she fought off more tears. "And what? What happened next?" Max continued to press. "That's all I can remember!" Kate cried out, unable to hold back any longer.

Lauren stood and turned to Max, "I think that's enough." Max looked like she had more to say but agreed with her, "I'm so sorry, Kate." Kate nodded but her words didn't seem to really reach her. "Um, I think we should go," Lauren said as she looked to Max who agreed, "We'll see you later, Kate, and if you need anything just call us." She gently squeezed Kate's shoulder one last time before turning to leave. They were almost to the door when Kate's voice stopped them. "Can I ask you a question," Max nodded prompting Kate to continue, "I need to know if Nathan Prescott helped me or hurt me after that party. Should I go to the police?"

"Kate, if you go to the police they won't believe you," Max stated simply. Lauren couldn't believe what she was hearing. How was that supposed to help her in anyway. Then like always, she couldn't hold her tongue, "What the hell, Max?" Both girls turned to her in surprise, "How does that help her at all? She's being harassed by all most everyone in school and she thinks she's been drugged, of course she should go to the police."

Kate sat there looking helpless as two of her friends argued over a simply question she had asked. She didn't want this going on any longer. "Please don't fight, I don't want to put this on you guys. I'll handle it myself, but thank you for caring. I'd just like to be alone now." Lauren and Max said goodbye to their friend and left her as she asked.

Once in the hall, Max immediately turned to Lauren, "See, what did I tell you about Nathan!"

Everything had come at her so fast this day and it was still early. "Okay Max, I get it, and I don't need you scolding me. I'm not a child and I can take care of myself."

"Lauren.. I'm not trying to scold you. I just want you to be careful, I don't want something to happen to you like Kate."

"Well it's not so you don't need to worry about me. I gave Prescott his jacket back and that's that, I'm done interacting with him." She smiled to her friend, hoping she would believe her.

Max sighed, seeming to accept it, "Hey, I'm heading out to meet up with Chloe. Do you wanna come with me?"

She shifted her weight, not wanting to tell her no but she didn't really want to intrude on Max and Chloe, "No I have stuff I need to get done, but I'll see you later." She waved her friend off as she headed back to her dorm once again.


	8. Chapter 8

Nathan laid across his bed, trying to think of anything other than what had happened that morning. Why did she bother him so much? She didn't seem phased at all by him. Most people in this school either hated him or were afraid of him except for the members of the Vortex Club.

He was completely puzzled as to how he hadn't noticed her for so long. Her appearance didn't really make her stand out at all, she was rather plain looking as far as her appearance went. Brown hair down to her mid-back, brown eyes framed by black glasses, slim, and pretty short. Nothing about her stood out, but the way she acted towards him had him completely transfixed on her. He couldn't just lay there any longer, he had to know why. He quickly grabbed his jacket and exited the boys' dormitory, searching the campus for that plain girl.

It was nice enough outside that he hoped she would be anywhere besides the girls' dorm. There was no way he would be able to get past Victoria in there and he wasn't willing to explain to her what he was doing. He made his way to the court yard in front of the main building. By luck, he actually found her. She was sitting under one of the large trees, reading a book.

Nathan walked up to her slowly, hoping she wouldn't notice him right away. Unfortunately for him, she looked up and saw him immediately, and, to make the situation more awkward, they made direct eye contact and neither of them spoke. They just continued to stare at each other, neither one of them moving. Nathan was unsure what to do. Maybe he was wrong and she actually was afraid of him. She spoke, as if she knew what he was thinking, "Um, you can sit down if you want." She scooted over to make room for him. He sat down next to her, keeping his eyes straight ahead to avoid another awkward encounter. "Is there something you wanted?" she asked as she went back to her book. Nathan looked over to her unsure of what to say.

"Are you… Um, no. Why are you..." He scratched the back of his head, trying to find a way to word his thoughts.

"Are you alright?" she was looking back at him now, which only further complicated his train of thought.

He took a deep breath as he formulated his words, "Why don't you hate me." It was less of a question and more of a statement. She laughed a little causing him to become annoyed. "When did I ever say I hated you?" he looked at her in surprise, his annoyance fading away, "I don't know you well enough to determine if I hate you."

"Oh please, I'm sure you've heard enough rumors," he looked down at his feet as he recalled all the things he's heard about himself around the school.

"And what does that prove," she fully closed her book and turned slightly towards him. "All that shows is that our school is full of shitty people."

He chuckled, "The world is full of shitty people."

She leaned back against the tree and stared up at the sky, "You've just got to find the ones you can tolerate."

Nathan looked over to her, "Why have I never seen you around before until the other day?"

"Maybe you just weren't looking for me." She turned her head and made eye contact with him, causing him to quickly look away from her again. "I've lived in this town all my life, I went to the public school then so that's why we probably never met back then. I'd heard of you before though, well not you specifically, more just your family in general. I was told that the Prescott family were mean rich people who didn't care about anyone else in this little town."

"Do you believe that," his normal cold, snarky tone had returned to his voice.

"I did. Not so much anymore though. I don't think you're a bad person, Nathan, if that's what you're trying to get at. I think you do need help though and that's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I don't need anyone telling me what to do." Aggression was now fully evident in his voice.

"If you say so," she sighed as she stood and looked back at him, "but if you ever need help or just someone, come find me." With that she left him there, sitting alone, his mind racing. He had gone to her to get answers to his questions and to get her off of his mind, but he was left with more unanswered questions and the inability to get her out of his head.


	9. Chapter 9

Lauren walked through the crowded hallways of Blackwell academy. Max had asked her to meet her in Mr. Jefferson's room before classes started. She said it was something important but Lauren felt like she was just going to be scolded again. As she came closer to the classroom, she noticed a very upset Kate talking to Mr. Jefferson. Lauren couldn't get close enough to hear anything before Kate took off down the hallway in tears. She went to follow her friend but lost sight of her through all the people. "I hope she's okay..." She said to herself as she watched where Kate once was.

"Lauren, there you are," Max pulled on her friend's arm, dragging her towards the classroom. "I have something I really need to talk to you about and I meant to tell you this morning but that didn't really workout," Max stopped in the doorway and looked back to her desk, "You've got to be kidding me."

At her desk sat Victoria and Nathan. Upon seeing him, Lauren remembered what Max had told her about staying away from him and how she hadn't done that at all. "You know, we can probably talk about this later. I mean, you obviously have something to deal with her and it's not a very private stop to discuss stuff." Lauren began to back out of the room but Max stopped her. "No. I'll deal with them and we can talk," she turned and smiled at Lauren, "it's my desk anyway and I'm not going to let them keep doing shit like this." Max walked confidently to her desk and stood in front of the two rich kids. Lauren, not really wanting to be there, followed slowly behind her, trying to keep out of sight.

Nathan noticed Max walking towards them. "Better be quite, Victoria. We have a master snitch and liar here."

Max glared at both of them, causing Victoria to laugh, "Did you think we were best friends forever or something?"

"Not at all, Victoria." Max was holding her ground surprisingly well. Lauren wondered when her friend had gained so much confidence. She shifted and ended up kicking one of the camera stands, causing Nathan and Victoria to notice her there.

"Oh look!" Victoria sang as she stared her down, "Max brought four eyes with her." She leaned back on the desk, seemingly confident with her insult.

Lauren let out a deep sigh and moved to stand next to Max, "If you're going to insult me can you at least try to be a little original." Shock covered Victoria's face but it quickly morphed to anger. Out of the corner of her eye Lauren thought she saw Nathan stifle a laugh but she couldn't be sure.

Victoria looked as if she had something more to say but Max took the chance to speak before she got started again, "Can you get off my desk."

"Oh of course, Max," Victoria spoke in a condescending tone, "why don't you take a selfie of this moment while you're at it." She walked back to her desk, with a triumphant smile on her face for having said the last word. Nathan watched Lauren as he walked over to join Victoria. They made eye contact but Lauren quickly looked away from him, not wanting Max to notice. Nathan, being unaware of her conversation with Max, took it as a sign that she didn't really mean what she said earlier, that she really disliked him like everyone else and had lied about it.

Lauren moved to sit down at Max's desk. She was fighting the urge to turn to see what Nathan was doing, she knew Max would have something to say if she caught her. She was grateful when Max started talking because it gave her something else to focus on. "So about what I wanted to tell you before," She paused as if debating if she should even say anything, "it's about what I tried to tell you and Warren the other day in the parking lot."

"Have you told Warren about it yet?" She questioned as it seemed like Max was struggling with finding her words.

"No, I haven't had the chance to really talk to him lately." She seemed a little sad as she explained this.

Lauren smiled as she noticed Warren walk into the classroom and make his way towards them, "Well here's your chance."

Max looked up quickly to see him walking over to her desk. He sat down at the edge of the table and looked down at them, "What up Max, Lauren." The two girls greeted him. His usual goofy smile faded as he began to speak again, "I saw Kate earlier and her eyes were all puffy from crying."

Max shifted awkwardly in her seat, "Kate has a lot on her plate." Lauren stared at the ground as they talked about Kate. She didn't want to remind about all her friend was going through when she knew there was nothing she could do to help her.

Mr. Jefferson entered his room and had everyone who wasn't in his class leave. There were a surprising amount of people who got up and left but the only one Lauren noticed was Nathan. She mental cursed herself for thinking about him so much when she knew that it was possible that what Max and Kate told her was true. She shouldn't like him but that only served to make her more interested in him.

Once in the hallway, Lauren stopped and leaned back against the lockers. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples in an attempt to stop the headache that was creeping up on her from stress and just thinking too much. The hallway was quite due to the fact that everyone was now in class and if they didn't have classes at this time, like her, they were most likely off somewhere else. The silence was broken when something collided with the locker right next to her head. She looked to her side to see a hand. She then looked straight ahead to see a very familiar red jacket.

Nathan Prescott had his hands against the lockers on either side of Lauren, keeping her from getting away. He looked down at her, his voice void of anger or any emotion it seemed like to her, "Did you lie."

She stared up at him in shock, not fully comprehending what he said, "Wh-what?" She mentally slapped herself for how stupid she must have seemed at this point.

"You told me you weren't afraid of me, and that you didn't hate me, but it doesn't seem that way at all." He sighed and continued to explain when she just continued to stare at him, "Whenever you're by yourself you seem fine around me but whenever you're around someone else you don't even look at me."

She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by one of the jocks shouting loudly down the hallway, "Yo, some crazy shit is going down at the girls' dorm! Check it!"

Lauren's eyes widened. "Kate," she said softly. It was barely loud enough for Nathan to hear even with how close they were standing, but he heard what she said and he suddenly realized why she tried to avoid him.


	10. Chapter 10

People flooded the hallway as they all made their way to the girls dorm. Lauren pushed past Nathan's arms and made her way through the crowd. Her surroundings moved past in a blur as her mind was flooded with endless possible situations she would find when she reached the dorms.

The courtyard in front of the girls dorm was flooded with people. Lauren scanned the crowd, searching for her friend. She noticed people pointing towards the roof, and was able to hear bits of what they were saying.

"Did you see that?"

"Is this for real?"

"Bitch flipped out!"

"I didn't think she was that messed up..."

Lauren's gaze followed their direction of attention, there, standing on the ledge of the roof, was Kate.

She felt her chest tighten and the air escape her lungs. She knew Kate had been struggling with everything going on lately, but she had never mentioned anything as drastic as suicide to her or Max. Lauren looked around at all of the people in the courtyard and felt a different emotion inside herself. Why wasn't anyone trying to stop her? Why were they all just standing there watching the girl they tormented?

Lauren tried her best to be strong enough to do something to help her friend. She moved through the crowd, mostly having to push people out of the way as her pleas to get through were all ignored. As she tired to move past a group of students, a girl pushed her back, "Hey! Watch where you're going," she sneered. She lost her balance and fell to the ground. Looking up to the roof she noticed someone else there, but she couldn't make out who it was.

Still on the ground, Lauren felt someone grab her arm. She jumped slightly as she was pulled to her feet by Nathan. Her brows furrowed, "Why do you always show up where I am?" Before he had the chance to answer shouts and screams could be heard from the people around them. Lauren turned to see Kate falling towards the ground. Her gaze was pulled away from her friend as she buried her face in the red fabric of Nathan's jacket. It felt warm and safe there, she wanted to forget what she had seen and just stay there forever, but she couldn't. Reality would set in and she would feel just as broken and lost as Kate had felt. She pulled herself away from that safe place, knowing she couldn't hide from what had happened.

The students were quickly ushered away by teachers and other staff as the police arrived. The students were lead to the main building and were offered counseling if they felt they needed it after what had happened. Lauren sat in the back corner of one of the classrooms. Many students had come up to her and given their condolences about Kate, knowing they had been friends. She simply nodded to each one, not having spoken since what happened. Max eventually found her. The two girls hugged as they held back tears.

"Lauren, I was up there with her. I tried to talk her down but I couldn't do it, I wasn't strong enough," Max's voice shook as she told her friend what had happened. Lauren hugged her tighter, still unable to speak.

The principal's voice came over the intercom, announcing that students could return to their dorms now or to their families if they wished, "... Except for Max Caulfield and Nathan Prescott who I would like to see in my office," he finished his regards to the situation and everyone began to leave. Max looked back at her friend, "I'll talk to you later, okay?" Lauren simply nodded as Max made her way out of the room.

The campus felt cold and lifeless as Lauren exited the building and made her way to the dorms. She felt sick when she saw a shrine had already been put up for Kate, "Why do people only care when something terrible happens," she muttered to herself. She made her way through the building and to her room while trying her best not to look at Kate's door. Even though light still shown through her window, all she wanted to do was sleep.

* * *

The discussion in the principal's office had not been carried out in a civil manner by far, and had left Nathan in a worse mood than usual. Max had accused him of dosing Kate, and got him suspended. She also brought up the gun incident again. "How the hell could she have known about that stupid gun," he growled to himself.

He didn't have to worry about anyone hearing him, the campus was completely dead. Many people had gone home after the incident. Not wanting to go home to his family, Nathan headed back to his dorm room. As he neared the boy's dorm, he stopped to look at the shrine in front of the girl's dorm. He looked up to the roof where Kate had been just earlier that day, "Really fucked up this time.." He shook away those thoughts and entered the girl's dorm.

As he walked down the hall, he could hear crying coming from Victoria's room. He sighed as he opened the door and walked in. Victoria was sitting on her bed with her head in her hands. She looked up as he entered, "What are you doing here?"

"I could hear you crying from the hall," he stated simply as he leaned against the doorway.

She scoffed, "What? Have you come here to comfort me? Or did you just stop by on your way to see someone else?"

"Don't even start this shit after what happened today," she somehow always managed to bring out the anger in his voice. "I heard you crying. I came to see if you were okay, and you look fine." He let out a sigh, realizing he was being harsh considering what had happened today and no matter how annoying she could be, Victoria was his friend. "Look, I'm sorry. I did come to see if you were okay."

Victoria looked up at him and smiled, "Thank you. You know you can actually be pretty nice when you're not so angry."

"Don't get used to it," he scoffed, "I gotta go." Victoria nodded as he left her alone again.

As he closed Victoria's door he turned to see Lauren standing in the hall watching him. He stepped towards her and went to speak but before she muttered a 'sorry' and quickly entered her room. He let out a deep sigh and mumbled to himself, _"Shit."_


	11. Chapter 11

Nathan walked down the hallway towards the door Lauren had entered. He knocked lightly but received no answer. He sighed and rubbed his temple, "You can't just ignore me, I just saw you go in here." The door opened slightly as she peered out from behind it. He leaned against the doorframe and looked down at her, "Well, can I come in?"

"Why?" she held the door firmly in place.

"You just lost someone you were close to. I thought you might need someone to talk to."

"And why would I need you?" although they often ran into each other and had talked a few times, she honestly didn't know Nathan very well and she knew he didn't know her.

"Whoa," he chuckled, "hostile." He wasn't really hurt by her words.

She looked away and apologized, "It's just been a long day," she opened the door, "you can come in."

Nathan entered her small dorm and began to look around as she shut the door behind him. He walked over to her desk. It had a few small sculptures on it. He picked up one that caught his eye and examined it. It was some kind of animal but he couldn't tell what, "What is this?"

Lauren looked over, noticing what he was holding she answered plainly, "It's a cat."

He furrowed his brows and looked at it again, "How?"

She walked over and took it from his hands, "My sister taught me how to sculpt when we were kids. This was the first thing I ever made." She shrugged and placed it back on the desk.

"Did you know what cats look like? Because it looks like a pig to me."

She laughed lightly, "Well then maybe it's a pig-cat."

He shook his head, "Whatever you say."

"Nathan?" he looked over to her quickly, "why did you come here? I know what you said, but why do you even care? I mean you don't know me."

"But I'd like to." He answered without hesitation. Lauren was a little shocked by what she heard, and seemed to be stumbling trying to find her words.

"What about Victoria?" she asked without looking at him.

Nathan shrugged and continued to look around her room, "She's my friend."

"She hates me," Lauren mumbled.

"I know."

She turned to him, "Then why are you here?"

"Because I want to be." He said it as if there was no other reason necessary.

"You don't care that she'd get mad if she knew you were here? Because she really will, and I have had _enough_ shit happen today and I really don't need more drama from her."

He sat down on the small futon she had in her room and looked up at her, "That's why I'm here. To help you get your mind off of it, and you don't need to worry about Victoria, I can deal with her."

"Okay," she sat down at next to him, "I'll bite. How do you plan to make me forget about my friend's death?"

Nathan looked away from her. He let out a deep sigh and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I don't plan to make you forget, just to help a little." He looked back to her, "Like you said before, there's nothing wrong with asking for help."

"I didn't really ask for help, and I don't really know you that well, so I don't know how you can help at all"

"Why don't we change that?"

She leaned forward so it was easier to make eye contact with him. "You really think this is the best time to get to know me?"

He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "Why not?" This wasn't really going how he planned but then again nothing really went the way he planned anymore.

"You know you're not who I thought you were." He looked at her, slightly confused. "I mean, I know who you are, but you don't act like how I thought you did," she paused and broke away from his gaze, "how I've heard you do."

Before he had the chance to answer, he was cut off by someone knocking at the door.

"Lauren, are you there?" Max's voice came from the other side of the door.

"Oh shit," she looked to Nathan, "You need to hide."

"What? Why?" Annoyance and anger laced his voice for the first time they had spoken tonight.

"Max can't see you here. I'll never hear the end of it if she does."

"What is she? Your mom?" he said teasingly.

"Nathan please, just hide somewhere." She looked desperate as she stood before him. He gave in and sighed, "Where?"

She grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the closet. "Really?" Annoyance was very present in his voice.

"I'm sorry, I don't know where else," She pleaded with him to just go with it as she lightly pushed him back into the closet, not wanting to annoy him further. Max knocked again. Lauren looked back at him, hoping he would stay put. "Just go get that," he muttered as he pulled the closet door shut.

Lauren quickly opened the door to find a very impatient looking Max. "What took you so long?" She said as she entered the room.

"Sorry, I just kind of wanted to be alone." She felt bad about lying to her friend but Max would be beyond furious if she found Nathan there. She shifted awkwardly as she watched her friend pace back and forth. "So, um, what did you need?"

Max stopped and walked over to Lauren. "There's something I need to tell you. I've been meaning to tell you for a while and I almost did in the parking lot the other day but that asshole Prescott showed up." She took a deep breath and continued explaining, "Look, something happened to me, something really weird that I still don't understand myself but you're my friend and I know I can trust you. I also need your help tonight."

"Max, what are you talking about?" Lauren was very confused.

"I'll explain on the way. Get some stuff you might need," Max made her way back to the door and looked back with a smile, "we're going on a little adventure." Without another word she was gone.

Lauren let out a groan and plopped down on her bed. She didn't know what Max had planned but she didn't feel like going anywhere. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening. She sat up quickly to see Nathan step out from his hiding spot. She stood up quickly and grabbed her bag, "I'm sorry, I didn't know she had any plans but I have to go help her."

"It's fine," his tone of voice contradicted his words. "I'll text you sometime," he stood at the door and looked back at her, "I still want to know you." He had left before she had the chance to reply. She rubbed her head as she tried to process everything that had happened. She didn't have time to stand around and think about some pretty boy, she had to go help Max before she did something stupid.


	12. Chapter 12

The hallway was dark and quiet. The only light came from the candles that had been lit for Kate, which Lauren still couldn't bring herself to look at. Everyone handles grief differently. Some except it and cry or show other forms of sadness, and others hide from it. They keep everything bottled up inside, pretending they're strong enough to accept what has happened without showing any sign that it phased them. No matter how hard Lauren tried, she knew she couldn't keep it bottled up forever. Her bottle didn't seem to seal everything away. It continued to fill even past its capacity, until it would eventually shatter, causing her emotions to flow forth like water kept at bay behind a dam.

Lauren pushed these thoughts as far away as she could as she made her way to the courtyard in front of the dorm where Max had asked her to meet her there. She said she would explain everything then. There, sitting on one of the benches, was Max. Lauren walked over to her, wanting answers to what was happening.

"So I know you're going to think this is a terrible idea," Max started as she rose to stand next to Lauren, "But it's something that I have to do and I want you to help."

"Just tell me why the hell you made me come out here," Lauren looked around to make sure no one else was there. The campus had taken up extra security measures due to Kate's suicide. There was now a strict curfew in place, and if they were caught they could be suspended.

"Okay, but to start, the thing I've been trying to tell you, you're going to think I'm crazy," she took a deep breath then went on to explain how she had the power to rewind time and how she was trying to use it to stop the whole town from being destroyed by a tornado by the end of the week.

"Is this a joke?" Lauren stared at her in disbelief.

Max shook her head, "I don't expect you to believe me yet, but that's not the only reason I brought you out here. I told you I needed your help. Chloe and I are breaking into the principal's office to find proof that Nathan drugged Kate, and I want you to come with me because you deserve to know what really happened to her too."

"Okay first off, that's a fucking terrible idea."

Max groaned and rolled her eyes, "See I knew you would say that."

"Because it is! And second, why would there be something in the principal's office saying Nathan drugged Kate? Don't you think that would have been taken care of if they already had proof?" Lauren hoped she could talk her friend out of this but it was no use. Max tried to reassure that everything would be fine and dragged her off to meet up with Chloe outside the school.

They stood outside the main hall hiding behind a tree as they waited for Chloe. Lauren was starting to become impatient. "So where is she? Because I have other things I could be doing right now that I would enjoy much more than this."

"Oh please, like what?" Max questioned as she knew Lauren wasn't very social and never did much around campus.

Lauren's mind instantly went to Nathan. She felt her face getting hot and mumbled an "Um, sleeping," to try to cover up the awkward amount of time she took to answer.

"How could you sleep after what happened today?"

"How could you not?" Sleep was the only thing that could relive her of her thoughts. She pushed the thoughts of Kate away again. She couldn't allow herself to think about it anymore, her bottle was already full and it was dangerously close to spilling over. ' _Please just stop thinking.'_ She pleaded with herself, which only proved to make things worse.

Her thoughts were finally cut off by Chloe jumping out and scaring them. Max didn't take it very well and brought up how it was inappropriate because they had just lost Kate. ' _Stop talking about it.'_

She had blocked out the rest of their conversation. Her attention was recaptured as Max pulled her behind one of the large art displays in the courtyard. Standing I front of the doors to the school were Mr. Jefferson and Victoria. They watched as Victoria basically threw herself at him in an attempt to have him pick her for the Everyday Hero's contest. Lauren made a gagging noise pretending to vomit at the scene which earned her a smack on the arm from Max and a laugh from Chloe. "Sorry, mom," she mumbled, earning her a glare from Max this time.

Once they were gone, the trio made their way to the main doors. "Wait, how are we even planning on getting in?" Lauren hadn't been fully informed of their plan. Chloe held up a set of keys with a confident smile on her face, "Chloe the key master."

The school hallways seemed darker than those in the dorms. Max illuminated some areas with her flashlight as they moved towards the office. Chloe entered first and made her way straight the principal Wells' door. Max stood out in the hall and looked around nervously, "Guys, I actually don't know about this anymore."

"This was your plan and it's going to get us all expelled." Lauren was surprisingly calm given the possible repercussions she would face if they got caught.

"I'm already expelled," Chloe chimed in as she began trying all of the keys she had.

"Oh nice, we're off to a great start," Lauren said as she pushed Max into the office to join Chloe.

"Shit. None of these are the right key. Why wouldn't the head of security have the key to the principal's office?" Chloe kicked the door out of frustration. "He's got to be hiding shit. You two look around and see if you can find a key. I'll start trying to pick the lock."

"We're fucked if we get caught," Lauren was simply stating the obvious.

Chloe turned and smiled at her, "Don't worry about it. Max has mad rewind powers and she'll save our asses if something bad happens."

"So I've heard." She pushed her self off of the wall she had been resting on and began to search around. Chloe seemed to have complete confidence in Max's 'powers' but she was still completely skeptical.

Lauren and Max searched for the key with no luck. Chloe also seemed to have no luck in picking the lock. Max explained that she had a plan and then proceeded to call Warren. She asked about how to make an explosive to open the door which seemed like another terrible idea to Lauren. Max then left to go find the things she needed. After waiting for what felt like forever for Max to return, Lauren heard a door open. She looked over to see the principal's door was now open and Max was on the other side, "No fair!" Chloe cried out. Lauren was still standing there confused. Max looked to her and smiled, "I told you I had powers."


	13. Chapter 13

None of this made any sense, but Lauren refused to believe Max had powers just because she opened a door from the other side. "That doesn't prove anything," she said as she entered the principal's office.

Max sighed, a little defeated, "Whatever you say."

They began snooping around the various files around the room. "What are we looking for exactly?" Lauren questioned.

"Anything that looks suspicious," Max answered as she skimmed through a file.

"Oh right, my mistake. I should have guessed that," her voice was laced with sarcasm.

"Now is not the time for you to get sarcastic." Max's voice held a semi stern tone, causing Lauren to laugh.

"Really? I think it's the perfect time." She tried to hide her smile as she watched Max roll her eyes and move on to more files.

The two girls searched through all of the files in the office as Chloe snooped through the computer. Lauren felt pretty useless as she didn't even know what kind of 'proof' they were looking for. Max had collected a few files and shoved them into her bag. ' _Because I'm sure no one will notice those missing.'_ She still firmly believed this was a horrible idea. All she wanted was to get out of there.

It seemed like they had everything they needed and were preparing to leave when Chloe called out from where she was sitting, "Jackpot!"

"What is it?" Max seemed almost too excited to be snooping through peoples' personal files.

"It's Nathan's actual permanent record, not that perfect file you found. 'Nathan Prescott the Third.' Oooh, he's so money," Chloe mocked." Lauren had moved to join the two other girls. "Look it reads like a rap sheet – bad grades, teacher complaints, secret probation… Oh but _I_ was expelled."

"Why were you expelled anyway?" It may have been rude to ask but Lauren's curiosity got the best of her.

"Um, it's a long story." Chloe simply avoided answering.

"Well at least Nathan was finally suspended. Check out that note… Open it," Max and Chloe continued to browse the files. Lauren, however, was a little shocked. Nathan hadn't said anything about being suspended and he was still on campus for some reason.

Lauren was brought out of her thoughts by Chloe standing up and almost running over her foot with the chair she had been sitting in. "We've got our info, let's bail." Chloe had already made her way out of the office, something must have upset her while Lauren wasn't paying attention.

Max and Lauren met her back in the hallway. She had a mischievous smile playing at her lips. "What's that impish look for," Max asked what both girls had been thinking.

Chloe's smile grew as she held up the set of keys they had used to get in the building, "Care for a midnight swim? The Blackwell pool is ours."

Max scoffed, "Swimming? You seriously want to take that risk right now?"

"I uh, think Max is right. We've been lucky we haven't been caught so far and we should probably get out of here before our luck runs out." Lauren had started to back away towards the door when Chloe grabbed her arm.

"Oh no you don't. You're in this too now, and don't worry so much. If anything happens Max will just rewind and save our asses. Now let's go."

"That's really not reassuring." The idea that she would be saved by her friends mysterious powers to rewind time actually seemed to make her feel worse.

Outside, the campus was completely empty. The three girls still did their best to stay quiet. None of them wanted to get caught out past curfew. Chloe quickly unlocked the door once they reached the building the pool was in. "After you," she held the door open for the others.

Max and Chloe walked ahead of Lauren. They seemed really close and she couldn't help but feel that she was intruding on them spending time together. Chloe stopped in front of the locker rooms. "So," she looked to Max, "boys or girls?"

"Boys," Max answered quickly.

"Figures. Perv." Chloe turned and made her way into the boys' locker room as the two other girls followed her. "I want that heated water," she yelled back as she already made her way into the pool area. Max had started snooping around the lockers.

"Classy, Max," Lauren said as she began looking around herself.

"I'm just looking. There's nothing wrong with that," she said defensively

"Oh, are you looking for this?" Lauren held up a photo of Max and Warren that she found in his locker.

Max walked over quickly and took it from her. "Why does he have this in here?" Lauren rolled her eyes at how oblivious Max was.

Max had decided to move on to the pool with Chloe. Lauren, however, choose to snoop around some more. She mostly found pointless things. Logan and Dana were hooking up, Warren had more pictures of Max and him, and Zack was cheating on Juliet with Victoria. And then she found Nathan's locker. There was something in her that told her not to open it, but, being nosey as she was, she ignored it. There were mostly normal things you'd expect to find in a locker, but she also found multiple bottles of prescription medicines. "Diazepam and Risperidone. What the hell are these for?" She turned to bottles over in her hands, examining the side effects.

"What's taking you so long?" Max called out from the doorway. Lauren jumped and dropped the bottles. She hadn't even noticed Max was in the room.

"Um I actually think I might head back to my dorm," she said as she gathered up the medications and placed them back in the locker.

"Are you sure?" Max moved closer to try to see what her friend was doing.

"Yeah. You and Chloe can hangout. It seems like you have some catching up to do, so I'll see you back at the dorm later."

"Well, okay. I'll see you then." Max turned and went back towards the pool

Lauren had had enough snooping and adventure for the night. She made her way back towards the dorms, fully read for sleep. She watched the fireflies as she walked back through the court yard. As she approached the girls' dorm, Kate's shrine caught her eye. It was the first time she had actually allowed herself to look at it. She smiled a little, remembering how kind her friend had been. She knelt down and used one of the candles to light one herself. She stayed their staring at Kate's picture for a while before she was interrupted. "I'm sorry," she heard a familiar voice say. She looked up to see Nathan standing there.

She stood up quickly and tried to compose herself before she spoke. "It just seems unreal."

"I'm just sorry it happened," his voice held a tone she couldn't quite place. It seemed like sadness but also guilt. "It's late. I'll see you around." He turned quickly without another word and began walking back to the boys' dorm.

Lauren took a deep breath as she watched him. It had been a long, crazy night to begin with so she figured why not keep it going. She stepped forward and yelled out to him, "Nathan," he turned to look at her and in that instant she felt as if she had lost the ability to speak. He was just staring at her and she had no clue what she was doing. "Do you, um…" she paused, trying to collect her word, "do you still want to get to know each other." He just stood there and stared at her. She began to feel panicked and just started talking again. "I mean, I understand it's late, and with all that's happened it's probably a stupid time to bring it up…"

She just kept rambling on until she heard him chuckle. She looked up to see him motion for her to come with him. "Come on, stupid," he said with a smile.

Lauren stood there shocked at first, until she realized he had started walking away again. "Wa-wait!" she called out as she ran a little to catch up to him.


	14. Chapter 14

Nathan's stride was much longer than Lauren's. That wasn't much of a surprise to her considering he was a good bit taller than her. She wasn't completely sure if this was a good idea. From everything she had been told about Nathan she shouldn't have been with him right now, but she wanted to be. She had trouble believing everything Max had told her, and it didn't feel right to judge someone she didn't know.

After walking for a bit, Lauren looked up at Nathan. She noticed his hair was slicked back. His natural hair was curly, she remembered seeing it when she gave him back his jacket. She also remembered seeing him shirtless that day.

Lauren hadn't realized she had been staring at him until he looked down at her. Feeling her cheeks heating up, quickly looked away. She didn't know how long he had noticed her staring at him, but she decide to speak before he could say anything about it, "Where are we going?"

He shrugged, "I have to get some stuff from my dorm so I guess there."

She quickly looked back to him, "Wait, we're going to your room?"

He looked down at her, "It's pretty late. Where did you think we were gonna go?"

"I don't know. I haven't really thought any of this through," she

"You can always just go back to your dorm

She thought about doing just that. Going back and curling up in bed where it was safe and nothing bad could happen. That sounded good to her, but she didn't want to turn back now. "No, it's fine."

They continued back to the boys' dorm. Lauren felt weird being there. She remembered her awkward encounter with the football players and her awkward encounters with Nathan. And then she remembered how nice he had been to her which was why she had trouble believing Max. She didn't want to call max a liar, but Max didn't know Nathan, so it felt wrong to judge him off of rumors. She wished she could explain that to her friend, but she knew it wouldn't make a difference. Max was fully set on painting Nathan to be the bad guy, and not just any bad guy it seemed. To Max, he was the worst of the worst, but to Lauren he was just troubled. That was something she could understand.

"You just going to stand there?" Nathan questioned. Lauren looked up quickly to see him leaning against the open door. She had been so deep in thought that she hadn't even realized they stopped walking.

"Uh, no," she walked passed him quickly in an attempt to hide the blush that had crept onto her cheeks. As she passed through the doorway, she was slightly taken aback by the way his room looked. It was dark. The blinds were completely closed, allowing no light to enter the space.

Nathan had photographs in multiple places around the room. Most of them were darker in nature. Lauren picked up two photographs that were lying on his bed. The first was of a young boy walking on the beach, and the second was of a dead bird. Her brows furrowed as she stared at the image. She turned and saw Nathan. He was leaning back against the door that was now closed. He raised an eyebrow upon seeing her expression, "What? You don't like them?"

Lauren looked back down at the picture in her hands, "Why would you take a picture of a dead little bird?"

Nathan moved to stand next to her. He was close enough that she could feel the heat coming from his body. Her breathing hitched slightly, and she immediately hoped he didn't notice. She didn't understand why she got this way around him. She didn't even know him that well, but there was just something about him that made her want to be near him. She watched as he gently took the photo from her grasp, turning it in his own hands to examine it. "Everyone has there own style with whatever they choose to do. For photography, mine just happens to be darker than most. But trust me, mines not the worst."

She had noticed something different about his tone with the last thing he said, but she couldn't quite place it. She watched as he moved the photos to a safer place, and then moved to sit at his desk. "You can look at whatever you want just don't really go digging through my stuff." she looked over to see he was fully invested in typing what looked like an email to someone. It felt slightly wrong to look through his stuff but since she had already snooped through his locker and she actually had permission she figured it wouldn't hurt.

At her feet, almost completely kicked under the bed, she noticed a small anger management book. She quickly put it back as she felt it was one thing she shouldn't be looking at. Some simple things she found consisted of a diploma on the wall for 'the best son in the world' signed by Nathan's father. It seemed cute that he still had it and made her smile. Little things like that must matter to him. She noticed multiple posters, a large movie collection, more pictures, and a projector on the ceiling. She felt it was also best not to ask about that. There was also a broken lamp and a music player.

Curiosity got the better of her and she hit play. The sudden noise obviously startled Nathan as he jumped slightly in his seat. He looked over to the source of the noise and saw Lauren laughing. "Whale songs are your prefered choice of music?"

He rolled his eyes as if he was annoyed but the smile pulling at his lips gave him away, "It's relaxing."

"Whatever you say," she laughed lightly as she continued looking around. On a table sat a camera that looked very familiar. "Hey I've seen one of these before." she picked up the camera and began turning it in her hands. Nathan came to stand next to her once again and the familiar warmth she felt when he was next to her returned.

Nathan stared down at what she was holding, "It's a polaroid camera. They're not really used much anymore."

"Oh, Max has one of these and it's the only camera she uses." She tilted the camera slightly, further examining it, "I've never used one though."

"Try it." Lauren quickly look up at him. "What?" He chuckled, "it's not that hard."

She huffed a little. The way he said it made it seem as if she wasn't smart enough to work a simple camera. "I know that. I just don't know what to take a picture of."

"Give it here then." He took the camera as he pulled her closer to him. He then turned the camera to face them and snapped a picture. The flash was nearly blinding. Lauren rubbed her eyes in an attempt to see clearly again. When she looked back up, Nathan handed her the picture. "You just have to wait for it to develop then."

"How long will that take?" The picture was currently completely white.

"You just have to be patient." Nathan leaned back against his dresser, watching as the smaller girl stared intently at the small photo slip.

Lauren watched the photo the whole time it was developing. As the picture slowly came appeared, it showed her smiling and looking at the camera. She was standing in front of Nathan, who was looking down at her in the picture. Her brows furrowed and she looked up to where he was currently. "Hey, you weren't even look-"

Her words had once again been cut off by Nathan. Not by his usual quick remarks or snide comments, but by his lips meeting her own. She was caught off guard but found herself kissing him back. He took a step forward and straighten up, cupping her cheek and tilting her head to continue the kiss. She had to stand on her tiptoes to reach him and soon lost her balance, stumbling back slightly.

Nathan caught her by her waist. His concerned expression quickly changed when he noticed her red face. "What? Are you not used to that?" he said with a taunting smirk.

Lauren began to speak but was unable to find the words to say. She could feel her face heating up even more as he looked down at her, his arm still securely around her waist. As if he could feel her embarrassment, he pulled away from her and took a few steps back. She cursed herself for wishing he had stayed where he was. Nathan leaned down to picked up the picture they had taken. She must have dropped it when they kissed. He returned to where he had been standing and handed the picture to her, "Keep this in a safe place." Still unable to find her words, she simply nodded and that was enough for him.


	15. Chapter 15

_'Keep this in a safe place.'_ Nathan's words echoed in her head as she slowly made her way back to her dorm. He was so different from everything she had heard about him. She had experienced only a bit of who he really was, and she craved to know more. She looked at the picture once more before letting out a huff of air and putting it in her pocket. The large doors of the girls' dorm squeaked in the quiet of the hall, causing her to wince at the sound. The last thing she needed was Victoria, or even Max, to find her coming in this late.

She managed to return to her room without any unwanted encounters. The first thing she went for once entering her room was her bookshelf. Routing through all the books she had, she managed to find her favorite, _1984_ by George Orwell. She carefully placed the photo Nathan had given her within the first few pages. "A safe place," she said softly to herself. After returning all the books to their rightful places, she climbed into bed and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, she was not awoken by the usual sunlight seeping through her window on to her face, but by the annoying hum of her phone. She reached over groggily to silence the noise. The bright screen caused her eyes to sting, and when they fully adjusted she was still unable to see without her glasses.

Holding the phone only a few inches from her face, she was able to distinguish what was on the screen. It was a text from a number she didn't recognize, 'Meet me in the parking lot in 10 min.' Her brows furrowed as she stared at the text. She sat up in bed and quickly responded, 'Who is this?'

The response came quickly as well, 'Who do you think it is idiot.' Nathan, she concluded. She didn't fully remember giving Nathan her number, but it seems she must have.

With such a short time given, she wasted no time getting ready. Unfortunately time management had never been one of her strong points. After showering and getting dressed, she noticed 20 minutes had already gone by. "Shit," she muttered as she quickly slid her shoes on, grabbed her bag, and headed out the door.

The campus was relatively empty at this time. Leaves fell peacefully and crunched under her feet. She made her way across the quad to the parking lot. There, she saw Nathan, leaning against a red truck. "Took you long enough," he called out as he saw her approaching.

She couldn't help the small smile creeping onto her lips. "Ten minutes isn't much time to get ready."

He looked her up and down quickly. "You managed," he then opened the door and climbed into his truck, "well come on."

"Where are we going?" She questioned as she climbed into the passenger seat.

"Breakfast," he stated simply as if there was no where else they would be going.

"Fair enough." She shrugged as they started moving.

The drive was peaceful. Lauren watched the familiar views of Arcadia Bay go by as they drove in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence, it was more of a comfortable silence. Nothing needed to be said, and it wasn't being filled with meaningless small talk. It was just what it was.

Nathan pulled up to the Two Whales Diner. It was a popular place among fishermen around town and she had been here a few times herself. Once inside, Nathan motioned to the far booth near the jukebox, "Let's sit down there." Lauren nodded and they made their way to the booth. They talked casually about the food and other things around town until she got up to go to the bathroom.

Nathan sat in the booth waiting for Lauren to return. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught something that looked familiar; a red and black flannel. He turned quickly, knowing whose it was, "Rachel!" His smile twisted into a face of disgust when he realized who it really was, "Whatevathefuck?"

Max was standing before him. She stumbled over her words awkwardly, "Uh..."

Nathan was becoming increasingly agitated by the situation. "Oh look," he spoke in a taunting voice laced with sarcasm, "it's 'Max Amber.' Nice outfit. By the way, thanks for getting me fucking expelled, you twee bitch."

"Considering we're in a public diner with a police officer right over there, you shouldn't advertise your rage, Prescott." Max's demeanor had heavily changed from when she first spoke.

He clenched his fists as a spoke. "Oh yeah? You shouldn't have bitch-snitched on me to that fucked up principal."

"Listen Nathan, I'll take back everything I said if you hook me up with Frank," she nodded her head towards the end of the diner the known drug dealer was sitting at, "you know what I mean."

Nathan relaxed in his seat and scoffed. "You look like you've never even taken a hit of baby aspirin."

"How do you think I stay wired all night studying? So is it a deal or not?"

"Calm down. Deal. You'll get your 'school supplies.' Just go over to Frank and whisper 'higher education,' he'll hook your ass up." Nathan let out a long sigh once Max walked away. He looked around and found extreme relief that Lauren hadn't come back during his altercation with Max. Unfortunately his relief was short-lived as Max soon came back. "Holy shit what do you want now."

Max came back with something Nathan hadn't expected at all. She stood confidently before him and spoke clearly, "Your sugar daddy will always protect you and threaten me."

Nathan's face twisted in anger. "You don't know shit about my father or me. Nobody here does."

"Then tell me what I should know." Her confidence had yet to fail her.

"Why?" he spat at her, "So you can pretend to care? Spoiler alert, he's an asshole."

"Maybe I could help you." Max's tone lightened slightly.

"I don't need you for anything except to stay out of my fucking business, understand? Now get out of my face." He was seething with anger at this point, but that faded as soon as he noticed Lauren standing farther back behind Max. With no idea of how long she'd been there, he just hoped she hadn't heard most of the conversation.

Max turned to follow his gaze and stiffened when she noticed her friend. "Lauren, what are you doing here?"

A light scoff escaped Nathan's lips. "What do you think she's doing here. She came with me."

"Seriously? What the hell," Max was clearly furious, "Come on, let's get out of here. Chloe is waiting." She turned, expecting Lauren to follow.

"Max, I'm not leaving" Lauren admitted as she moved back towards the booth.

"What? Why?" Max followed her gaze as she looked back at Nathan. She then found herself angrier than she had been before. "Do you know what he's done?! He's not a good person, you can't be alone with him so let's go." Max reached out to grab her friend and bring her with her, but Lauren pulled back in an attempt to stay. Max didn't know what overcame her, but in a mix of anger she let go as Lauren was pulling harder to get away, causing her to fall back into the booth, knocking over a glass on the way. Lauren cried out in pain as the broken glass on the seat dug into her arm.

Max stared in disbelief as the blood from the cut seeped into Lauren's white shirt. She knew she couldn't let this stay the way it was, and raised her hand to use her power. However, she was cut off by a sharp voice.

"No," She looked to see Lauren staring up at her, her eyes a mix of indistinguishable emotions, "Don't you dare do that. You can't just rely on that every time you fuck up and I won't allow it. Live with your mistakes and maybe you wouldn't even need that."

Lauren's words cut deep as Max stumbled to respond. "I-I didn't mean it." Joyce had made her way over with a towel to wrap around Lauren's arm. In all the commotion Max had slipped away without another word. Sitting there, she began to feel as if she had been to harsh to her friend. She hadn't been paying attention to anything Joyce had said, but thanked her and assured her she'd be fine anyway.

Her attention shifted to Nathan who was now standing with his hand extended to her. "Come on, let's get that taken care of." She took his hand as they exited the diner, never even having eaten breakfast.

 **Authors Note:**

 **Hey everyone! I want to apologize for my lack of updates. I started my freshman year of college this year and have been super busy. I just wanted to let you all know that even though my update times are** _ **super**_ **slow and sporadic (and I feel really bad about that) I promise this story is not going to be left unfinished. I also want to thank all the people supporting this story. This is my first story I've ever written and all the positive feedback has been really nice, so thank you everyone!**


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